COUNTERFEIT MENACE

Partners say vendors are not educating resellers and customers well about the negative effect counterfeits have on business. MAIT, the trade body representing vendors, will address resellers who sell or encourage counterfeits, for a quick buck, to stop this trade.

Resellers encourage spurious products... 

The most concerning factor is that small resellers encourage fake products and bring a bad name to the industry. They import products from other countries and sell it in India at a low price. The cost difference for these goods varies from 10% to 20% and dealers buying through authorized partners can’t match these prices. Also, customers do not get a warranty on these products. 

“In India, there are no strict laws against people encouraging counterfeits and the culprits are rarely caught”

Bharat Bhushan  CEO, RR Systems

Stringent law is required stop counterfeits... 

The main problem is that in India, there are no strict laws against those who purchase counterfeit goods. The culprits are rarely caught. These products are primarily from China or Taiwan, and the customer does not pay the duty in India. All these factors force the vendor to reduce the price of their products. 

Customers should realize negative effect on business... 

The only way to curb counterfeits is to educate users. Vendors have to take the initiative to make customers aware that fake products are destructive in the long run. Customers should realize that though products from China and Taiwan flood the Indian market, there is no after-sales support for these goods. This means that products, which are of less value, are duplicated. Customers don´t think twice before buying them. It is much easier to sell smaller products like RAM, CPU, cartridges, LAN card and modem compared to big products, like printers or scanners as then, technology becomes important. 

Partners should not encourage counterfeit goods... 

There are certain partners who sell fake goods for their vested interests and have given a bad name to the whole IT sector.

They don´t realize that the IT industry, partners, vendors as well as customers suffer. And this is the case in all businesses.

Therefore, it is our responsibility to tell the channel community to discourage counterfeit products in the IT market. 

Government should reduce the excise duty to help the IT industry... 

The channel community has requested the government several times to reduce the excise duty on the IT products from the existing 16%. The market will have less counterfeit products if the duty on them is reduced. Private and government organizations should work together and help reduce the inflow of counterfeits. A united effort will ensure that resellers do not indulge in the spurious IT goods trade.

“Indian laws are well-equipped to control counterfeits and the government should work with the private sector for this”

Vinnie Mehta  Director, MAIT

We have to address all resellers... 

The unorganized sector or the gray market is growing at a fast pace, which is not good for the IT industry. We have to address all resellers, right from those who sell fake HP cartridges to the ones who encourage counterfeit products, for a quick buck, to stop such trade. It only puts the channel in a bad light. 

Indian law is well-equipped to handle fake products market... 

The Indian law is well-equipped to control the counterfeit market. It is very important that the state government and private sector work together to stop counterfeiting. MAIT has joined hands with vendors like HP, Canon, Epson and Logitech to handle this issue of counterfeit products. We are also working with various law enforcement agencies. 

Education will help to curb spurious products inflow... 

The only way to stop counterfeits from affecting the IT industry is by educating end-users and resellers. By using counterfeit products, customers are risking the life of original products. For instance, if a person uses a fake HP cartridge in an original HP printers, it is will affect the head of the printer. Users don’t get any warranty on fake goods and hence, there is no after-sales service too. We understand that MAIT will need to do some handholding for the reseller community and are prepared to do it. 

Realizing importance of selling original products... 

The channel is the medium trough which products reach the end-user. So, educating partners is one of the most important steps for us. If we make them understand the importance of original products, then partners will also pass this on to customers. Resellers must realize that encouraging counterfeit business and earning quick money, will not help them in the long run. It will damage their reputation as well as business. 

Government, seminars play an important role... 

We have requested the Central Government to reduce the excise duty from 16% to 8%. This will surely help vendors price their products more competitively and reduce the inflow of counterfeit items in the market. We at MAIT are organizing various seminars across the country where we are educating the dealer community through live workshops. It will play a role in making partners and customers aware that encouraging counterfeit products is unethical.